Respect Thanksgiving, Consider Opting Out of Black FridayOutdoor sporting goods retailer REI became a trending topic for announcing that they were closing their locations on Black Friday. REI encouraged people to #OptOutside rather than go shopping, and that was amazing PR for them. Opting out of Black Friday isn’t right for every brand, but showing that you care about Thanksgiving never hurts. A genuine Thanksgiving message is invaluable, and if you’re a small or family owned business, stepping away from Black Friday can earn a lot of respect. People respond well to messages about giving employees the day off to spend with their families. But do you trade in respect and brand recognition for potential sales? It’s something to consider.

Go All In on Black Friday
If your brand’s goal is to make sales, and get people talking about your deals, then you’ve got to go all in. Nobody makes a Facebook post telling their friends and family about a 10% discount. Black Friday comes once a year so make it count, come up with exciting deals that get people talking, and get them in your stores if you have physical locations. Price sales in such a way that you take a hit, but you can stand it, because you’re creating new regular customers for your brand in the long term. But how do you create ‘exciting’ deals? Look to Amazon for the answers – and adapt them to meet your brand’s scale. Try hourly deals, give exclusive Black Friday coupons to your e-mail subscribers, and notify your customers when surprise hourly deals start.

Do It Again on Monday
For most brands nowadays, the distinction between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is becoming more and more blurred. If you have no physical locations, Cyber Monday is like Black Friday Part 2. Look at the most popular deal of Black Friday and bring it back for those who missed it the first time. Leverage the return of you most popular deal with language that suggests you’re bringing back a classic or a favorite “one last time.” You’re also going to want to introduce new deals too. Before Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you should divide the deals your brand can offer, and deliver half on Black Friday, half on Cyber Monday, or at least make certain deals exclusive to one or the other.

Tease Giving TuesdayIf you’re a non-profit, Cyber Monday is the day you should start your Giving Tuesday campaign. You’re looking to raise money on Tuesday, so you should grab everyone’s attention a day early – let them know that an opportunity to contribute to a fundraising campaign is on the horizon, or even start the drive a day early. You should not pass up on Cyber Monday as a chance to get the ball rolling, otherwise you’ll be spending some of your Giving Tuesday time spreading the word rather than delivering progress reports, impact stories, and other content that can increase donations.

Vary Your Giving Tuesday MessagesWe touched on this a little earlier, but there are tons of options for your Giving Tuesday brand messages. Schedule out progress reports, or fundraising thermometers, to show your followers how well the fundraiser is doing. Deliver impact stories that tug at the heart strings, and get people to loosen their purse strings. Keep the messages positive; your followers are likely still on a Thanksgiving emotional high, so stay optimistic, no matter what topics your non-profit covers. Finally, plan for success and failure. Have a message prepared for your audience in case you don’t meet your Giving Tuesday goal. Thank your followers for giving what they could, voice optimism for the rest of your end of year campaign, and just perhaps your sympathetic message will get donations rolling in to make a “Wonderful Wednesday.”